Zair Smedlyayev on ‘invitation’ to Chubarov to visit occupied Crimea

According to Smedlyayev, the matter will finally be settled after relevant authorities and the European Court of Human Rights have passed their verdicts.

SIMFEROPOL/AQMESCIT (QHA) -

A decision to lift a ban on entry to Crimea for Mejlis Chairman and Ukrainian MP Refat Chubarov and arrest him in absentia made by the Crimean authorities was to be expected, though it was quite amateurish, said Zair Medlyayev, Head of the Central Executive Committee of the Kurultay of Crimean Tatars, in an interview with QHA.

"I learned nothing new after reading a verdict handed down by Simferopol’s Kiev District Court whereby Refat Chubarov was to be arrested in absentia after a ban on his entry to Crimea was lifted. That was to be expected, but I have to say it was done in a quite amateurish way because they should have lifted an entry ban first so he could show up for trial before making a decision to place him under arrest," said Smedlyayev.

Smedlyayev emphasized that Chubarov was not duly notified of a forthcoming trial, nor a Mejlis representative was allowed to take part in the court proceedings.

"No medias were allowed to cover the trial, while the trial itself was not announced in the court building. They kept the things completely under wraps,” he said.

According to Smedlyayev, the decision to arrest Chubarov in absentia contrasts with the statements that Chubarov may either be indicted or simply detained to determine whether he will stay incarcerated pending trial.

"As a rule, for a decision like this to be made, investigators and Prosecutor’s Office are to put in a relevant request, which they are required to do under the Criminal Code. The decision to arrest him in absentia is absolutely out of sync with the statements that Chubarov may either be indicted or simply detained to determine whether he will stay incarcerated pending trial. Under a verdict handed down by Simferopol’s Kiev District Court on October 6, Chubarov is to stay incarcerated for up to 2 months after he has been extradited to the Russian Federation or detained in the Russian Federation. This just goes to show how incompetent those who submitted the request are,” said Smedlyayev.

Smedlyayev is positive that the matter will finally be settled after relevant authorities and the European Court of Human Rights have passed their verdicts.

It was reported earlier that Refat Chubarov posted a message on his Facebook page saying that under a verdict handed down by Simferopol’s Kiev District Court on October 6, 2015, he, as a person ‘charged with committing a crime defined in Section 2 of Article 280.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (public incitement to actions aimed at breaching territorial integrity of the Russian Federation) was sentenced to a 2-month home arrest, a sentence he is to start serving upon his extradition to the Russian Federation or detention in the Russian Federation.